Shiro Kuramata's Miss Blanche slipper chair, with its red, red roses frozen in the air, has sold for $46,000. This one is at SFMOMA.

Shiro Kuramata's Miss Blanche slipper chair, with its red, red roses frozen in the air, has sold for $46,000. This one is at SFMOMA.

Photo: Courtesy SFMOMA

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Alexandra Von Furstenberg, known for her vibrant colors, branches out with the Brilliant Console (above center) and a sleek vanity tray.

Alexandra Von Furstenberg, known for her vibrant colors, branches out with the Brilliant Console (above center) and a sleek vanity tray.

Photo: Cheryl Fox

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Alexandra Von Furstenberg

Alexandra Von Furstenberg

Photo: Cheryl Fox

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Alexandra Von Furstenberg, known for her vibrant colors, branches out with the Brilliant Console (above center) and a sleek vanity tray.

Alexandra Von Furstenberg, known for her vibrant colors, branches out with the Brilliant Console (above center) and a sleek vanity tray.

Photo: Cheryl Fox

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(NYT83) UNDATED -- May 4, 2005 -- LUCITE-DESIGN-4 -- Transparent trappings barely seen here include the Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell. The clear, hard plastic introduced to America in 1930 and known by brand names like Lucite and Plexiglas -- has come back. (The New York Times) less

Louis Ghost Chair, designed by Philippe Starck for Kartell. $410 Available at DWR Studios, www.dwr.com.

Louis Ghost Chair, designed by Philippe Starck for Kartell. $410 Available at DWR Studios, www.dwr.com.

Photo: Courtesy DWR

Acrylic furnishings - making things clear

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When Kartell released its now iconic Louis Ghost Chair in 2002, many rediscovered a genre of furnishings that had more or less disappeared with the 1970s.

In its beginnings Lucite, a synthetic polymer invented in 1928 and later copyrighted as Plexiglas, was used primarily for military equipment such as submarine periscopes, windshields and gun turrets.

In the years that followed, the golden age of Art Deco was rife with any number of Lucite pieces, from desks to chairs, door handles to evening bags. Combined with chrome, mirrors and Bakelite, pieces felt more Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers than futuristic.

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That came later with such American designers as Karl Springer and Charles Hollis Jones, both of whom created sexy creations that looked right at home in a 1970s Billy Baldwin-designed New York apartment. Along with the Italian school of avant-gardists like Giancarlo Peretti and Ettore Sottsas, Springer and Jones are sought after by those wanting to add a touch of vintage glamour without becoming too kitsch.

"When it was first introduced as furniture, it was admired for its durability and prismatic quality, not to mention it could be molded into virtually any shape," says Ronald Labaco, curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. "Acrylics allowed designers to challenge traditional forms and create neoclassical interpretations."

One of the most famous of all acrylic furnishings belonged to multimillionaire cosmetics queen Helena Rubinstein, who in 1936 commissioned a Lucite sleigh bed that was illuminated from underneath. Rubinstein was enchanted with her bed and even allowed Life magazine to photograph her lounging on it (the bed recently surfaced on 1stdibs just last year). She conducted business from the bed and guests sat on matching chairs.

More recently, new designers have taken on acrylics in ways that are even more creative. "I think the Holy Grail for museum curators is the Miss Blanche chair by Shiro Kuramata," says Labaco. The chair, a postmodernist riff on a lady's slipper chair, features roses suspended in space and time, a frozen innocence and purity. In 2005, a Miss Blanche was sold at auction for $46,000 (SFMOMA has one in its permanent collection).

"The lasting attraction of acrylic is its sleekness, simplicity, and the futuristic feeling of the material," says designer Alexandra Von Furstenberg. "They have a translucency and lightness that blend well in any style of decor."

Von Furstenberg's acrylic accessories are a favorite of celebrities and design lovers, who covet her charm bowls in eye-popping colors and animal prints ($408, Cavalier Goods, 1035 Post, St., San Francisco; cavaliergoods.com). For the holidays, Von Furstenberg has created a limited-edition backgammon set in smoky acrylic ($788, www.avfhome.com).

However, if you want to make a bigger impact - on the level of say, a Lucite sleigh bed - then Von Furstenberg's neon console may be just the ticket (at Cavalier Goods and made to order, $12,900). "A client once said to me, 'Your work is so happy. It's smiling furniture.' " That's if you don't trip over it first.

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